The present invention relates to a disposable wearing article adapted for absorption and containment of urine as well as feces.
There have already been proposed disposable diapers comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and a liquid-absorbent core sandwiched between these sheets so as to define, a front waist region, a rear waist region and a crotch region extending between these waist regions. The diapers further include a pair of liquid leak-barrier sheets spaced from each other by a predetermined dimension in a transverse direction and extending in the longitudinal direction and a pair of liquid-resistant partition sheets spaced from each other by a predetermined dimension in the longitudinal direction and extending in the transverse direction. For example, such a diaper is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1996-322878 (hereinafter referred to as “JP 878”).
The leak-barrier sheets respectively comprise proximal zones bonded to the opposite lateral margins of the diaper and extending in the longitudinal direction, distal zones extending in the longitudinal direction in parallel to the proximal zones and normally biased to rise up above the topsheet, and fixed front and rear ends directed inward in the transverse direction and bonded to the front and rear waist regions in such a directed state. Upper edges of the respective distal zones are provided with contractible elastic members extending in the longitudinal direction. The distal zones of the respective leak-barrier sheets form barriers functioning to prevent urine and/or feces from moving sideways and thereby to prevent urine and/or feces from leaking beyond the opposite side edges of the diaper. The partition sheets are located substantially in the longitudinal middle of the crotch region, each comprising a proximal segment bonded to the topsheet and a distal segment having transversely opposite ends bonded to the distal zones of the leak-barrier sheets. Upper edges of the respective distal segments are provided with contractible elastic members extending in the transverse direction in a contractible manner. The distal segments of the respective partition sheets rise up above the topsheet as the distal zones of the respective leak-barrier sheets rise up to form barriers functioning to intercept movement of urine from the front waist region toward the rear waist region and simultaneously to intercept movement of feces from the rear waist region toward the front waist region.
In JP 878, while it may be possible for the distal zones of the respective leak-barrier sheets to prevent feces from moving sideways, these distal zones are not adapted to cover feces received by the diaper from above. This means that feces discharged in the diaper may be exposed between these leak-barrier sheets and readily come in contact with the wearer's crotch region and buttock. Consequentially, feces may cling to the wearer's crotch region and buttock and consequently, the wearer's skin may be contaminated with such feces over a wide area.